MIDISynth-Control 1.0.6

Transcription

1 MIDISynth-Control

2 Table of Contents 1 Overview Requirements ios Android Currently Supported Synths In Progress: Synth Selector Synth Tile Settings Synth MIDI Port Status Panel Controller MIDI Port Show All MIDI Rescan MIDI In MIDI Sets Dirty Track PC Skin User Guide Global Settings Show All Vals Show Val Left Handed Phone Mode Performance Bluetooth Double Click Action Synth Options Common Options General Operation Options Patch Navigation Performance Mode Navigation Patches Screen Common Operations V-Macros User Layouts Section Operations Common Operations Control All Ableton Link Global Controls Tempo Enable Start/Stop Re-Sync Link Tile... 21

3 4.2.1 Activate Process Link Start/Stop Latency Start/Stop Re-Sync Link+ Tile Purchasing Modules ios Android Additional Functionality Randomise/Morph/Performance Link

4 1 Overview MIDISynth-Control provides complete control over a number of popular synthesisers from your ios/android tablet/phone. Each supported synth is available as an In-App-Purchase (IAP) for ios or via a PayPal purchase for Android. Before purchasing a module, a 3-day trial is available with most functionality enabled. This document covers the basic operation of the app for each module a separate user guide is available detailing the specific operation for that synth. 1.1 Requirements ios ipad/ipad Pro/iPhone Camera connection kit or equivalent, Wi-Fi MIDI, Bluetooth MIDI receiver ios 9.0 or later Android Android tablet/phone OTG (On-The-Go) cable, Bluetooth MIDI receiver Android Marshmallow 6.0 or later Android Installation The Android installation is provided as a downloadable.apk file for installation on your tablet. To install this product, you will need to set your tablet permissions to be able to install content from unknown sources. If you are not willing to install content from unknown sources, please do not purchase this product as you ll not be able to install it and no refunds will be given License After purchasing the product you ll receive a license in a separate mail from noreply@sigabort.co.uk. Please make sure this is in your safe senders list and check your spam folders if this does not turn up in a short time. Save this license key to your Android device and use the ADD LICENSE button in the Buy/Trial screen to install the license.

5 Scaling The resolutions support by Android devices are weird and wonderful whilst I ve done as much to accommodate this as possible, if things are looking somewhat weird on your device then send some screen grabs over to midisynth@sigabort.co.uk along with the device specs and I ll see if I can improve things for you. 1.2 Currently Supported Synths Novation Circuit Novation Circuit Mono Station Novation Peak Elektron Digitakt Elektron Digitone In Progress: Modor NF-1

6 2 Synth Selector The main screen consists of a number of tiles with each tile representing a supported synth that you have purchased (or are currently running in demo mode). To load up a particular synth click on the title bar containing the synth s name. When operating a synth, short-press on the icon on the corner of the screen to return to this page. When operating a synth, long-press on the icon to bring up synth options and custom settings (see section 2.3).

7 2.1 Synth Tile Settings Each synth tile has a number of options that apply only to the particular synth Synth MIDI Port The default MIDI port of the synth is auto-selected if detected at startup. If you have enabled Show All MIDI and selected a different MIDI port, then this port will be selected instead Status Panel Shows the current connection status of the synth MIDI port Controller MIDI Port The controller MIDI port can be used to select a MIDI device that can be used for controlling the V-Macro controls (see section 3.4) and the custom controls (see section ). Additionally, all MIDI from this port will be routed through to the synth so you can route an external keyboard or controller to the synth Show All MIDI If enabled all MIDI devices will be displayed for selection if disabled only MIDI devices matching the synth will be displayed Rescan Rescan connected MIDI devices. If no connection currently exists this will attempt to connect to a previously specified MIDI port (if show all MIDI is selected), or the default MIDI port.

8 2.1.6 MIDI In Enabling this option will processing incoming MIDI data from the controller and update the GUI appropriately (turning the knobs on the synth or automation data). Depending on the state of the MIDI Sets Dirty flag, this will also set the edit buffer as dirty MIDI Sets Dirty Enabling this option will cause incoming MIDI (turning the knobs on the synth or automation data) to mark the current edit buffer as dirty and flag that the user needs to save it when moving away from the patch Track PC Determines whether the synth editor should follow program change (patch selection) on the synth (this option will not be available if the synth does not send PC) Skin Change the look of the App User Guide Click on this button to launch the user guide for the synth. 2.2 Global Settings The global settings section contains a number of options that apply to all synths Show All Vals Enabling this option will show the current value underneath each control. The user can click on this to manually enter a value Show Val Enabling this option will show the value of the currently moving control in the top left-hand corner of the screen Left Handed When enable all menus will be placed on the right-hand side of the screen allowing for easier combi operation for left-handed people Phone Mode Enabling this will change the UI to use the paged phone display which may be preferable on smaller devices.

9 2.2.5 Performance When engaged some items will be removed from patch navigation (e.g. init, fetch) and STORE will be replaced by RELOAD allowing initial patch settings to be restored (see section 3.2.1) Bluetooth Connect to MIDI BLE devices. After connecting to a BLE received, please use the RESCAN button to rescan available devices. If your device does not appear, try enabling SHOW ALL MIDI DEVICES Double Click Action Determines what happens when a control is double-clicked: Off: No action Zero/Centre: Control is set to 0 or centred if it is bipolar Default: Control is set to the default value Patch: Control is set to the value when the patch was loaded 2.3 Synth Options Performing a long-press on the Sigabort icon in the top left of the screen will bring up options particular to that synth. These options are only displayed whilst the icon is held down release the icon to return to the main editing screen.

10 Below the available options are a list of long-press operations that are applicable to the module Common Options These options are common to all modules for any other options please refer to the specific module documentation Load All/Save All This is a top-level load/save which stores all module data in a single file for convenient archiving. This differs from Load/Save in the patches screen which will only save/restore patch data (see section ). The data saved/loaded with this operation typically as follows, though will vary from module to module: Setup data Patch data Any extended patch data XY control assignments (global) Performance control assignments V-Macro assignments Colour assignments View Modes If the tablet version support more than a single default layout then these will be listed here Control All Selection If the module has more than two synth engines, this selector will determine which synth engines are affected when the ALL button is held down whilst modifying a control (see section 3.7).

11 Fine Control Enable to allow fine control of sliders/rotaries Show Envelope Show envelope displays for envelopes.

12 3 General Operation 3.1 Options An option bar will appear on the left (or right) hand side of the screen giving you access to all functionality of the module. The items on this bar will vary from module to module and also which additional functionality modules you have purchased (e.g. rand/morph/performance). 3.2 Patch Navigation Along the top of the screen is a navigation bar that will allow quick navigation between patches, as well are some more common operations such as storing the current edit bugger, creating an init patch, and fetching patch details from the synth. This bar may additionally contain patch information if applicable (e.g. category, genre).

13 3.2.1 Performance Mode Navigation If performance mode is enabled in global options, the navigation bar will have most options remove and the STORE button will be replaced with RELOAD. Pressing the RELOAD button will reload the patch to its save state this allows numerous changes to be made to the patch followed by a return to a known state. If the module contains a number of synth engines, this will typically reset the selected synth to its saved state. However, holding down the ALL button whilst pressing RELOAD will reload all synth engines to their saved state. Whilst is performance mode changes to a patch can still be saved if you wish by entering the patches screen. 3.3 Patches Screen The patches screen gives access to a number of patch operations.

14 3.3.1 Common Operations These operations are common to all modules for any other operations please refer to the specific module documentation Load/Save Brings up the load/save screen. This will load/save the patch (bank) state independently of the rest of the editor state. If you wish to save the patches as part of an overall setup, then use the LOAD ALL/SAVE ALL buttons in the setup section (see ). If the SYSEX button is selected patches will be loaded/saved in standard sysex for the synth. If the SINGLE button is selected, single patches will be loaded/saved if not, banks will be loaded/saved Switch If SWITCH is selected, then when a new patch is selected the view will automatically switch back to the editing view Store Store the current edit buffer at the currently selected slot. The button will turn red when there are un-stored changes Store To Pressing STORE TO will allow a different patch slot to be selected from the right-hand side of the screen and the current edit buffer will be stored to that slot Init All This will initialise patches all patches in the editor. If the module has patch banks (e.g. Peak) then a long-press on this button will initialise the current bank only.

15 3.4 V-Macros Up to 8 virtual macros can be defined per patch. Each virtual macro can be set to control up to 4 parameters on the synth (selected via buttons A-D), and the start, end and depth of each parameter can be controlled. Using the L button, each V-Macro can be MIDI learnt to a controller assigned to the Controller MIDI port (see 2.1.3). Engage learn and then move the control on your MIDI controller to assign. Long-press L to remove the assignment.

16 3.5 User Layouts A single user layout is provided with each module. This can be increased to six with the purchase of the performance module (see section 5). Each user layout consists of a grid of controls that can be from 2x2 in size up to 8x8 on tablet and 4x3 on a phone. Pressing the EDIT button will change the display into the edit display.

17 For each cell you can specify: The control to be placed in the grid cell How the control is to be displayed (if appropriate): Rotary, Vertical Slider, or Horizontal Slider. Minimum value of the control (if appropriate) Maximum value of the control (if appropriate) Once editing is finished, press the EDIT button again to return to normal operation. All updates will automatically be saved. 3.6 Section Operations A number of operations can be carried out on each UI section. Some operations will be placed on the section header if there is room: Additional operations can be displayed by holding down the SECTION button: If there is no room for operations on the section header then all operations will appear when SECTION is held down: Common Operations These operations are common to all modules for any other operations please refer to the specific module documentation.

18 A/B Toggling the A/B switch will toggle between your current (edited) settings and those of the patch when it was loaded. Note: When A/B is enabled (i.e. using the loaded patch settings rather than the edited settings), the COPY and SAVE buttons will operate on the patch settings, not the edited settings Load/Save Up to 10 presets can be saved and recalled for use in other patches think of this as a favourites menu. Pressing SAVE will bring up a menu showing any existing entries. Choose an existing entry to overwrite or an empty slot to create a new preset. Clicking on an empty slot, will allow you to name the preset. Long-pressing on an existing slot will delete the preset Copy/Paste Each section can be individually copied to a copy buffer via the COPY button and pasted to a different patch using the PASTE button Rand Randomise the section using the current randomisation settings (see section ) Init Initialise the section to default values

19 Reset Reset the section to the values when the patch was loaded 3.7 Control All If a module has multiple synth engines, holding down ALL whilst modifying a control will update the same control in all synth engines to the current value.

20 4 Ableton Link Ableton Link support is provided for syncing synths with sequencers to an Ableton Link session. This can also be used for syncing arps, LFOs etc for synths with/without internal sequencers. 4.1 Global Controls Tempo This slider displays the tempo of the current Link session this will update if the tempo of the session is changed or can be used to change the tempo of the session Enable Enable/disable Link processing Start/Stop This will send a start or stop command to the Link session allowing all Link participants supporting this to either start or stop. All Link tiles that have Process Link Start/Stop enabled will respond to this command.

21 4.1.4 Re-Sync This will send a re-sync to all Link tiles that have Process Link Start/Stop enabled. 4.2 Link Tile Each synth is represented by a tile on the display Activate Enable Link processing for the synth Process Link Start/Stop If this is enabled the synth will respond to start/stop instructions from the global start/stop button, and also from any other participants in the Link session Latency Each synth can have up to 250ms of latency applied to it. Any changes in latency will be applied from the next bar Start/Stop If the synth has an internal sequencer then this button is used to start and stop the sequencer. This operation is quantised to the next bar of the Link session Re-Sync Failsafe to re-sync the synth to the Link session. This should never be needed but is provided just in case.

22 4.3 Link+ Tile If you have purchased the Link+ module then up to 6 additional external USB devices can be specified for syncing to the Link session. Additional tiles can be added by using the + button. Link+ tiles are the same as normal Link tiles except the synth name is replaced by a dropdown allowing you to select a MIDI port.

23 5 Purchasing Modules Click on the BUY/TRIAL button on the selection screen to enter the purchase screen. From here it is possible to run a 3-day trial for any of the supported synths or purchase the full version. Some features (e.g. Load/Save) are disabled in the trial version. 5.1 ios Purchasing on ios will be done through the App Store. Click the RESTORE button to restore any previous purchases. 5.2 Android Purchasing on Android will take you to PayPal where you can pay for the module. Once payment is complete you will receive an containing your license for the module. The license should be stored on your tablet and added to the application using the ADD LICENSE button.

24 5.3 Additional Functionality Modules to extend base functionality can be found at the bottom of the page. Screenshots are from the Circuit module but are similar for all modules. Please refer to synth module documentation to see any specific details for a particular synth Randomise/Morph/Performance This module adds randomisation, morphing and performance functionality to each purchased synth module. When running the trial, the following limitations are imposed: 1 XY pad (instead of 4) 4 custom controls (instead of 16) Randomise Three randomisation algorithms are provided for discovering new sounds. Several parameters are provided for each randomisation mode to tailor how mild or extreme the randomisation is, and sections or individual parameters can be excluded to further increase control Common Controls These controls are available in all random modes. Dials Only enabling this will disable all dropdowns from randomisation Exclude Allows individual controls to be excluded from the randomisation Random Randomise with the current settings Absolute An absolute value will be set for the parameter between its min and max value. Range this determines the max upper value a random value will be chosen between 0 and this %age of its max value Affinity whether the value tends to favour min (-ve) or max(+ve) values.

25 Relative This randomiser will generate random values based on the current values in the synth. Range the maximum movement as a %age of range (i.e. max min values) that the value can move Noise how often (%age) the range is ignored to pick a random value. Negative values still obey the max of 50% of range, positive values set the range to be 100% Clip affects behaviour when the new value would be outside of the min/max range. When clipping is on, they are fixed to min/max values. When disabled, they will bounce back from the min/max difference by the appropriate amount. Direction sets direction of value change to down, up, or both Patch The new value will be picked between min and max values when the minimum is taken from the first patch specific and the maximum is taken from the second. Patch Select 1 the first patch number to use Affinity whether the value tends to favour patch 1 (-ve) or patch 2 (+ve) Patch Select 2 the second patch number to use Noise how often (%age) the affinity is ignored to pick a completely random value. Negative values still obey the bounds of min/max from patch 1 and 2, positive values will pick a value from min to max of the parameter.

26 Exclude Pressing the EXCLUDE button will enter exclude mode where each control or section can be individually excluded from the randomisation. Controls highlighted in blue are included. To toggle the inclusion/exclusion of a control/section, simply click on it. By default, all macros and mods are excluded from randomisation and morphing, as well as some other basic controls that would affect output adversely unless required (e.g. levels).

27 Morphing It is possible to morph between two patches or sessions (depending upon which screen you are on) using the controls provided. Noise How often (%age) the min/max values of the patches are ignored to pick a random value. Negative values still obey the bounds of min/max from patch 1 and 2, positive values will pick a value from min to max of the parameter. Patch Select 1 the first patch number to use Morph bar Left is fully patch 1, right is fully patch 2 in-between is where the magic can happen Patch Select 2 the second patch number to use Dials Only enabling this will disable all dropdowns from morphing Exclude Allows individual controls to be excluded from the morph (see section ) XY Controls Four XY controls are provided for easy control of multiple parameters at the same time. The XY controls are freely assignable to any parameter of the synth. Once assigned these controls will be available in the Performance Screen (see section ). Clicking a MAP button will highlight the parameter controls, and these can then be assigned by clicking on the appropriate control. Its name will then appear in the XY control to show it has been assigned. The XY controls will only operate when two controls have been assigned. A long-press on a MAP button will remove an existing mapping Global XY Controls It is possible to store a set of XY definitions for each patch as some controls may be more appropriate for certain patches compared to others. It is also possible to define a set of global XY controls that are always available. To enter global XY control mode, click on the XY button whilst already in XY sub-mode. The button will change colour and you can now define a set of global XY controls. Pressing the button allows easily toggling between the two modes.

28 Custom Parameter Assign 16 parameters can be freely assigned to any parameter on the synth and these will then be available in the Performance Screen. Mapping is similar for the XY controls hit the M button to enter map mode and then select the destination control. A long-press on the M button will remove the mapping. Using the L button, each custom control can be MIDI learnt to a controller assigned to the Controller MIDI port (see 2.1.3). Engage learn and then move the control on your MIDI controller to assign. Long-press L to remove the assignment. Use the 1-8/9-16 button at the left of the screen to move between the two banks of 8 parameters Performance Screen Performance screen pulls a number of performance related controls onto a single screen.

29 This consists of: Access to 16 user-defined control mappings Access to 8 V-Macro controls Access to 4 user-defined XY controls Custom control morphing Mixer page (if appropriate) Snapshot and Autoreset functions Any additional module-specific controls Zooming Performance Controls Holding down the SELECT button will allow a number of performance controls to be selected which will be zoomed to fill the available screen space: Highlighted controls will be displayed when the SELECT button is released:

30 Setting Range of Performance Controls Pressing the RANGE button will superimpose range sliders on the mapped custom and XY controls allowing you to set the minimum and maximum %age value of the control Morphing Enabling the MORPH button will add a morph slider to the display for morphing between two custom parameter banks. Pressing the EXCLUDE button under the left morph control will change the SELECT buttons under the custom sliders into EXCLUDE buttons. It is then possible to define custom controls that are excluded from the morph operation Custom Banks Up to 16 banks of custom parameter values can be stored and retrieved. It is also possible to morph between two banks. Press the BANKS button to bring up the controls for storing banks which operate in a similar way to other banking controls Selecting View It is possible to rotate through three view modes for the Performance Mode, accessible from the top control button: All: Shows all sliders and XY controls Slider: Shows all sliders XY: Shows XY controls XY Controls Pressing the XY GLOBAL button will toggle between viewing the global XY controls and those that have been assigned to a patch. It is possible to select which patch controls are used for the XY controls via the selection button underneath Snapshot Engaging snapshot using the SNAP button will take a snapshot of the current performance controls: macros, custom controls, XY controls, channel levels, delay sends, reverb sends, mute states, master filter. You are then free to change any of these controls and have them all reset back to their value when you engaged snapshot by another press of the button Autoreset Engaging Autoreset via the AUTO button will reset each supported control (macros, custom controls, XY controls) to a specified value when the control is released. The reset values are set with a long-press of the AUTO button. Any controls being operated at this point will have their values updated.

31 Keyboard (only available for tablet) The keyboard module allows you to send note data to your synth (if applicable). If the synth contains more than one synth channel this can be selected from the channel selector along the top of the keyboard. The following settings are per channel: Velocity Octave Root note Scale Chord configuration View Mode The following view modes are supported: Standard standard keyboard layout Iso Isomorphic grid layout Root Root note grid layout Piano Piano view grid layout Octave Mode Pressing the 2 Oct button will display only 2 full octaves on the keyboard allowing for slightly larger keys to be displayed. When in this mode you have the option of using the fixed velocity slider (by enabling the FIXED button) or using dynamic velocity using the vertical position on the key to adjust the velocity being sent to the synth Hold/Send Off It is possible to create held notes by holding HOLD whilst releasing a selected note. Any held notes on a channel can be released by pressing the SEND OFF button.

32 Chord Mode Enabling the CHORDS toggle will display 8 chord selectors which can be used to play a chord from a single keyboard pad. This is momentary by default but can be set to a latch mode by using the LATCH button. When a chord is selected, the octave selector changes to an inversion selector where any inversions for the chord can be selected. Pressing the CONF button will allow a chord to be selected for each slot from those available each chord is stored along with a selected inversion, so it is possible to store different inversions in each slot Drumpad (only available for tablet) The drumpad module allows you to send drum data to your synth (if applicable). Each drumpad can have its own velocity specified if the FIXED VEL button is enabled. If not, the pad will generate dynamic velocity depending on the vertical position of the press on the pad.

33 Global View The global view allows quick access to mixer, keyboard, or drumpad displays from the main synth select screen, and allows quick switching between these views for each module. Each of the buttons becomes available when you have multiple modules that contain one of the views, e.g. if you have purchase Circuit and Digitakt, which both have mixer views, the Mixer button will be visible. If you have purchase Peak and CMS, which both contain Keyboard views, then the Keys button will be available. Pressing the button will take you to the global view of the corresponding page. From here you can switch to other views that are available for your configuration, and also switch to other modules that contain the same view.

34 5.3.2 Link+ The Link+ module is an enhancement to the natively supplied Ableton Link support. Ableton Link synchronisation is automatically supplied with each purchased module, and Link+ allows up to six additional external MIDI ports to be synchronised to an Ableton Link session. Please note: No other purchases are necessary to purchase and use Link+ standalone which can then be used to sync up to 6 external USB devices to an Ableton Link session. For further information, please refer to section 4.